Photoshop Phoniness: Hall of Shame

Photoshopping, digital alteration, image manipulation, blah blah blah. Everyone talks about the fact that so many images of women are “perfected” with the help of technology, but do we really understand how serious this issue is? Like exactly HOW MUCH these photos are manipulated to fit some seriously unrealistic ideals that we view constantly? And do we understand that it isn’t just fashion magazine covers that feature altered images? It’s everywhere.

While the vast majority of images of women are being digitally altered, so are our perceptions of normal, healthy, beautiful and attainable.

One of the main strategies used to reinforce and normalize a distorted idea of “average,” which sparks body anxiety when we don’t measure up, is media’s representation of women as extremely thin (meaning much thinner than the actual population or what is physically possible for the vast majority of women). This is done by consistent use of models and actresses that are extremely young and thin and by making the models and actresses fit their idea of ideal of youth and thinness and beauty through digital manipulation. This unrealistic form is consistently represented across almost all media forms, along with blemish-free, wrinkle-free, and even pore-free skin, thanks to the wonders of digital manipulation as an “industry standard” that is openly endorsed and defended by magazine editors and media executives the world over.

What we see in media, and what we may be internalizing as normal or beautiful, is anything but normal or beautiful. It’s fake. It’s a profit-driven idea of normal and beautiful that women will spend their lives trying to achieve and men will spend their lives trying to find. Until we all learn to recognize and reject these harmful messages about what it means to look like a woman, we all lose. And we don’t want to lose.

So here’s to taking back beauty — and the Photoshop phoniness that makes us crave seeing reality even more. Please help us spread the word about media manipulation by sharing these images on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, your own blogs, and unite with women in grasping our beautiful realities! Need more help developing body image resilience that can help you overcome your self-consciousness and be more powerful than ever before? Learn how to recognize harmful ideals, redefine beauty and health, and resist what holds you back from happiness, health, and real empowerment with the Beauty Redefined Body Image Program for girls and women 14+. It is an online, anonymous therapeutic tool that can change your life, designed by Lexie & Lindsay Kite, with PhDs in body image and media.

Note: Some of these images are inappropriate for young or very conservative readers, or those seeking to avoid eating disorder triggers. We always take caution to exclude any truly explicit images, and never include nudity, but the occasional bikini does cause offense at times, even if the image demonstrates an important message. Please proceed with caution.

Demi Lovato on the July 2012 Cosmo, discussing her battle with bulimia. Classy, Cosmo! Real classy

Sources say America Ferrara’s head was pasted onto another woman’s body for this phony Glamour cover.

This scary display of digital manipulation in action was caught on popular clothing store Ann Taylor’s website in August 2010, when the women behind the feminist website Jezebel discovered the “before” image (on the left, obviously) being displayed while the startlingly narrower “after” the image loaded. The already stunning model’s hips and thighs were shrunk to strikingly thin proportions, but her waist simply looks ridiculous. After Jezebel reported the glitch (and thank goodness for that!), Ann Taylor fixed it and sent an apology their way, saying, “We want to support and celebrate the natural beauty of women, and we apologize if, in the process of retouching, that was lost. We agree, we may have been overzealous on some retouching but [going] forward we’ll make sure to feature more real, beautiful images.” Unfortunately, Ann Taylor is a notorious repeat offender.

Faith Hill on the July 2007 Redbook cover. Right arm? Suddenly appeared on the cover. Left arm? Cut down by at least 1/3 of its original size. Wrinkles, normal complexion or any other signs of life on her face? Erased. Back? Sliced out almost entirely. Enough said.

Kate Winslet on the Jan. ’03 British GQ cover. Acclaimed actress Kate Winslet is notoriously beautiful and curvaceous, so it’s not surprising men’s magazine GQ would want to include her on their cover. What IS surprising is that they removed her curves entirely, leaving extremely thin legs that bear no resemblance to her own and a rightfully upset actress. She told Britain’s GMTV, “I don’t want people to think I was a hypocrite and had suddenly gone and lost 30 pounds, which is something I would never do, and more importantly, I don’t want to look like that! … They made my legs look quite a bit thinner. They also made me look about 6 feet tall, which I’m not – I’m 5 foot, 6 inches.”

Keira Knightley in the “King Arthur” movie promotional poster image. She goes from naturally thin and small-chested to a D cup in every promotion she’s featured in!

Same model, differing degrees of Photoshopping on REAL printed ads, Oct. 2009. Ralph Lauren responded: “After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.”

Beyonce before and after Loreal’s digital manipulation. Beauty whitewashing is a startlingly widespread issue. Click the image for more information on the sad trend.

Former high fashion model, Crystal Renn, battled a deadly eating disorder for many years before deciding to switch to “plus size” modeling for health purposes. Photographer and Fashion for Passion founder Nicholas Routzen said that Crystal looked thinner because the photos were “…taken from a higher angle with a wider lens,” but tha t“I shaped her … I did nothing that I wouldn’t do to anyone. I’m paid to make women look beautiful.”

Mariah Carey on Elle Aug. 2008. Did Elle think no one would notice that Mariah Carey looked nothing like her real self?

Kourtney Kardashian, just 7 days after having her baby, is featured on the cover of January 2010′s OK Magazine. It looks as though she dropped her baby weight in one week! Interestingly enough, the Kardashians were advertising QuickTrim in this very issue.

We’re not big Britney fans, but we do think it’s pretty awesome that she let Candie’s release the before and after Photoshopping ads of her plastic-ized body!

Demi Moore on the cover of the Nov. 2009 “W” magazine. Her head appears to have been simply cut and pasted onto this model’s body.

Sofia Vergara’s arm appears to have been slimmed dramatically for this Pepsi “skinny can” ad. We are not supporters of this ridiculous ad tactic or the women-targeted “skinny can”!

When superstar singer Kelly Clarkson was digitally slimmed down almost beyond recognition on Self’s September 2009 cover, people noticed. Her appearance on “Good Morning America” within just days of the cover shoot proved that her body did not look anything like the very thin one that appeared on the cover. In a shockingly ironic twist, the issue she appeared on was titled “The Body Confidence Issue” and featured an interview inside where she explained how comfortable she felt with her body. Click the photo to read the rest of the twisted story, complete with shameless defense from Self’s editor.

Jessica Simpson on the Sept. 2008 Elle cover. The cover was shot in the same time period she was performing live. It is quite obvious Jessica was Photoshopped out of reality!

Kimoralee Simmons, past owner of the Baby Phat franchise, approved of this advertisement for one of her latest products. Kimoralee: mother, wife, business mogul, and…plastic doll?

The original photo retouching scandal! This is actually an illustration that looks much like photo, where Oprah’s head was drawn onto actress and singer Ann-Margret’s body for a 1989 TV Guide cover. Wow.

Gabourey Sidibe on Elle 2010. Even when the women are being recognized for something other than their beauty, like, say, an Oscar nomination for incredibly talented actress Gabourey Sidibe of “Precious,” magazines like Elle still feel the need to whitewash her in order to feature her image on the cover. Click the photo for more on the insidious trend of beauty whitewashing.

A 2009 Oil of Olay eye cream ad featuring Twiggy — one of the world’s biggest modeling/fashion icons for more than a decade, now she’s relegated to the unglamorous realm of photoshopping disasters for beauty industries lies. Straight-up lies. Amazingly, this ad was banned by the UK’s advertising watchdog after more than 700 complaints were gathered for a campaign against airbrushing in ads by the Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson. The ad was deemed to be misleading. Um … yep!

Tennis superstar Andy Roddick on the May 2007 Men’s Fitness. He said later: “I’m not as fit as the Men’s Fitness cover suggests…little did I know I have 22 inch guns and a disappearing birth mark on my right arm.” THANK YOU, Andy! We love the truth. Most often, these celebrities have absolutely nothing to do with the extreme alteration of their photos. Men are not immune to these ideals. Read more by clicking on the photo.

We don’t even need to show you a “before” pic to assure you Tina Fey had a ribcage both before and after this photoshoot for InStyle. We’re also missing the scar on her face and the proper placement of her head. It is likely Tina’s head was simply pasted onto another woman’s body, or at least misplaced on her own Photoshopped and slimmed body.

The UK fashion magazine Grazia admitted it dramatically slimmed down Duchess Kate Middleton on its May 2011 cover. As if that was even sort of necessary. Wow.

Kate Winslet is again the victim of a Photoshop hack job, this time by Harper’s Bazaar in their Nov. 2011 issue. Both of these photos were taken the same month!

Sarah Jessica Parker on the Aug. 2011 Vogue — wrinkle-free at age 46! We think not. We prefer to see a few signs of life on people, Vogue! No need for a cartoon version of an already beautiful woman.

Thank you to Elizabeth Fletcher of Union University in Tennessee for finding BR and designing this masterpiece to promote our cause through guerilla marketing in women’s restrooms! We’d like to recommend some online guerilla marketing by our beautiful supporters! Let’s see how many pins, shares, likes and blogs we can get for this powerful image! Ready?? Go!

For more information on how Photoshop Phoniness affects us, please read and share our research at these links:

Please join us in shedding some light on Photoshop Phoniness by slapping one of our sticky notes on that magazine in the doctor’s office or checkout stand, the sign in the mall or at the bus stop, or even on your own mirror to remind you that “there’s more to be than eye candy” or “you are capable of much more than being looked at!”Support this cause by purchasing these messages as sticky notes, posters, postcards or fliers. Now go show your beautiful reality to the world and look eye to eye to spot real beauty and in your own life!

36 Comments

I understand why magazine companies want to photoshop celebs and models. They are selling fantasy. Their business runs entirely on consumers who desire to look like those on the pages so they can sell copies, so makeup and beauty companies can sell products, etc. It’s not going to stop entirely because it would kill their business. But I do think there are lines to be crossed. I don’t mind when I see people who have basic retouching, but it does get a bit ridiculous when you can’t even tell who’s in the picture.

Yep, these industries profit off selling “fantasy,” but those profits depend on the public believing those fantasies are reality — that they’re attainable with the right products, services, etc. You’re right that it would kill their business if it went away! Twiggy’s wrinkles aren’t going to sell anyone Oil of Olay’s anti-wrinkle cream! But that’s where we come in. We’re here to spread the word that these fantasies are just that: fantasies. Too many people believe those fantasies are reality, that Kate Winslet’s thighs really look like that and you can be in your 50s with no wrinkles or signs of aging. When our realities don’t measure up with media realities, that’s where body shame and related problems set in. This is a big picture issue, not a case-by-case issue of basic retouching. All ethical lines are being crossed in each of these examples, and there are thousands more. We’re not even asking these industries to quit the altering — we’re asking people to recognize it and reject it, then embrace a much more beautiful reality! (wow, that was long. my bad.)

If you really have to lie to people to get them to buy your product, shouldn’t you evaluate how much integrity really exists within your company? Call me silly, but at the end of the day I want to know that I lived a good life and actually made the world a better place. I cannot take my money to the grave. There are people out there who make a generous profit and still maintain their integrity. I think that we as consumers need to demand that the producers create products that are worth our while. Not unattainable fantasies.

Wow. I’ve seen some of these photos before but it’s always a good reminder of how crazily photoshopped most magazines are. As someone who has lost a good chunk of weight (and am still figuring out my goal weight). I find it fascinating that the real celebrity looks much more like the common woman (and like me!) than what we’re fed from the magazine.

Some of these are just downright baffling (ok, appalling) that they feel the need to adjust the image. Like Kate Middelton’s case where she is already very thin, why in the world would you think to shrink her down even more? When I see that I have to wonder if the person doing the photoshopping doesn’t necessarily very extreme body image issues of their own.

The whitewashing ones are just disgusting. Honestly, that should be illegal, it seems like a pretty clear case of racism to me..

Wow. That is just disgusting. I have seen photoshoped images before, but white-washing? Wow! How low will they stoop?! It is just so grose to see the kinds of manipulations that are going on in the media. The term, “Drop-Dead-Gorgeous” comes to mind, and I wonder, why hasn’t anyone picked up on the “Drop-Dead” part of it? These images aren’t real! No one can look like that without literally killing themselves. I remember knowing several friends in high school that told me they struggled with anorexia and bellemia (eating disorders where you starve yourself, or throw up anything you just ate) and I am sure it is because of ads like these. I remember watching a promotional video by Dove about photoshopping. The video actually showed how they cake makeup on the girl, dress her up all nice, take the pictures, and still, take away all the flaws and tuck this and that! The end result looked nothing like the girl who the pictures were taken of. It was mind blowing!

And something I have personally noticed in any ads is how “flawless” people look. The ads show manikins, not real people. Real people with real smile lines, and real dimples, and real skin! This is a scary world our kids are growing up in. I’m glad there is someone out there that is dong something about making girls and women aware.

This is a brilliant blog, and a badly needed one, which I found through Gemma Wilson’s blog. I’ve added it to my blogroll, because as a father of girls I feel very strongly about abuses of photoshop. Once a photoshop magazine ran an issue on how to get rid of “blemishes” in fashion photos with a tutorial. I tried it – it’s depressingly easy.

Very concerned to read about “beauty whitewashing”: I’d noticed that some black women seemed to have lighter skin-tones in some photos in women’s magazines at work, but was scared to comment on it for fear of being called a racist.

As someone freshly out of my teens I used to look at magazine covers and think “why can’t I look like that”. No matter how much I exercised, dieted, or applied makeup I didn’t feel as pretty as those girls. Now that I’m older I realize that not even those girls look like that. Stuff like this actually makes me more confident. So what I’m not perfect. So what I’m not thin. So what I’m not flawless. I’m human and that’s all I need to be.

I use many of these pictures in my Fit vs Fiction workshops at schools and I find it amazing that so many of the “After” pictures don’t look better, they just look WEIRD. Yet, we’re still made to feel like we need to live up to them. WHY??

As savvy as kids are today, I can tell you that so many of them that I speak to are STILL surprised when they see just how much manipulation goes into EVERY magazine ad they see. I call these pictures “A beautiful Lie”. We NEED to keep calling them out so kids will grow up knowing the difference between REAL bodies and digitally manipulated ones.
:o)

We also want to point out the piece of Demi Moore’s left hip that is conspicuously missing from her picture. If you run your eyes down from where the exposed part of her skin is between the fabric draped on her hips down her leg, you’ll see that it doesn’t line up the way that it should. Yikes!

It’s so sad to see some of these fantastic women being changed, most of the time without their consent, we should celebrate every healthy normal body shape. most of this photo shopping just makes them look like floor lamps.

I stopped buying most magazines because I just cannot contribute my money to something so degrading.

I don’t get it. Why is all this photoshopping being done? Who is it impressing? Not me. I think these women look lovely pre-photoshop. There’s nothing sexy or galmourous about they way they look afterwards.

In this day of high definition digital photography photoshop is a necessity. A still photograph can reveal all kinds of flaws that no one would notice in day to day life. Publishing an un-retouched photo would usually do the model a diservice since skin ‘flaws’ are in fact magnified. Many photographers won’t even show the models un-retouched photos because the girls would be horrified.

That said, lots of Art Directors go overboard and it is good people are calling them out on it

As we’ve posted on the page selling these products, we are in the process of raising money to get new billboard, sticky note, and poster images up ASAP! The first round featured me and my sister and two other girls we could get on a moment’s notice for a one-of-a-kind opportunity to get billboards up in our state. The next round will feature an older woman, women of color, etc. Any support we can get will go to further diversifying our images!

Always follow the money…It will never stop if people keep buying the magazines, buying the products, etc…and the celebrities can be “disgusted” that they were photo-shopped, but they continue to pose and cash the checks – it’s a cycle that someone has to stop.

I remember seeing an ad featuring Linda Evangelista when I was at the pharmacy picking up a prescription with my 9-year-old daughter. I pointed it out, including how photoshopped it was: “The woman in that photo is older than I am but that photo shows her with fewer lines on her face than you have and you’re a little girl.”

Hate the whitewashing trend – most of those women look much better dark, anyway! Here’s to pretty skin of all colours from dark chocolate to cream.

First, I must admit I am a Graphic Designer working heavily in Photoshop for commercial work (although not with the fashion industry)..and its for THAT reason that I hate Photoshop for the overall artificial quality that has become the norm.!!

My personal response, has been to put together a book of my own “point-and-shoot” photography of inspirational moments, with NO Photoshop (other than some colour correction)

I love your blog, this is great! I’m a therapist who works with chronic dieting and disordered eating clients, and I use a mindfulness and health at every size approach. I also work with body acceptance. So basically, it’s my job to help clean up this cultural mess.

I love fashion and used to buy a lot of fashion magazines (before becoming interested in this topic) and I noticed that since I’ve been more interested in working with women’s issues and seeing fashion on real women rather than rail thin airbrushed fantasies, that now when I see airbrushed women with stick thighs, they look unreal and unhealthy to me. It’s all a matter of what we are exposed to, so yes, the exposure to this plastic non-reality has change! Our culture depends on it – and not just women! Men also are affected by this, both for their own self-images, and for their expectations of the women in their lives.

People have been manipulating photos far before photoshop entered the picture. Companies like Vogue, or any other fashion-related magazines, offer you a glimpse of the “ideal woman.” Now, you may argue that the women they’re presenting are simply representations of the real actresses or celebs, and that they are not the type of woman to be considered ideal. Understood….but I’d argue that 10/10 girls, whether they are honest with you or not, will think, “Wow, she looks great!” Being a man (who is a mere 5’8″, with short bow legs, and a head that makes me look as though I’ll topple over at any moment), I am also presented with body types that i will never be able to attain, but there is no shame in a little motivation (Yeah, thats how i look at it!)

No pores, No wrinkles, no grey hairs….. blah blah blah. Most girls “photoshop” their faces with paint and powder before they leave the house! They dye their hair. They choose clothes that accent their beautiful features and tone down their less than beautiful features. How dare you trick us [men] like that every day?!

The bottom line is this:
Fashion photography is an art. While all art differs, most artists seek to present beauty; even if that beauty is strangely grotesque. Art doesn’t always seek to show us what IS, but rather, what IS NOT. Do you think the classical painters painted exactly what they saw? You don’t think the statue of David was intentionally made to look like a not-so-well endowed super hero? Even the paintings of God and Jesus made them look like professional linebackers.

Perfect beauty is not possible to attain, but we can create what it WOULD look like…..and why the hell not?! its beautiful!

Vogue’s goal is to present its readers with a fantastic setting, bigger-than-life beauty, and an insight into today’s fashion. It is not their goal to present readers with bland settings, average looking people, and outdated apparel; this can be seen by looking out of one’s own front door. To this day, young girls strive to be like their favorite Disney princess/character; characters who undeniably possess an unrealistic and captivating beauty. Considering Vogue’s long lasting presence in the industry, it’s fair to say that people enjoy viewing this type of beauty. Perhaps, it is because the beautiful women and images presented are exactly that … beautiful. Jezebel’s attempt to expose the magazine for unethical practices simply goes to show how little Jezebel understands the companies mission. In fact, the basic intentions of Jezebel show its general lack of the confidence that they so confidently claim to possess.

I’m extremely pleased to discover this web site. I wanted to thank you for your time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely enjoyed every part of it and I have you saved to fav to check out new things in your blog.

The fact that they whiten black females angers me. They need to be sued for racism. And it is incredibly funny how they make barby dolls out of women on the magazine covers. Whoever do this couldn’t get over their childhoods.

Seriously? Some people actually think this is okay? Girls form eating disorders because they feel tons of pressure to have the perfect body they constantly see in the media, but its unattainable yet girls still try to achieve it by starving themselves. This makes me sick.

Beautiful – Inside and Out | Me Myself & Riggins - [...] have an eye-opening gallery of photoshopped pictures of celebrities that is just fascinating (http://www.beautyredefined.net/photoshop-phoniness-hall-of-shame/). These pictures are supposed to show us that even…